Do-it-yourself animal euthanasia

Last year, toward the end of August, I made one of the most difficult decisions in my life. I decided to put Annabelle, our 14-year-old family dog, to sleep.

My favorite picture of Annabelle.

Her later years, as they are for many of us, had not been kind. She had lost some of her sight and hearing, much of her appetite and most of her control over her bodily functions — invariably, she’d pee on me every morning as I carried her down the back stairs of my third-floor apartment. All the glucosamine and chondroitin in the world couldn’t help her bend her hind legs, and it hurt just to watch her walk, stiffly dragging her nails on the ground.

I knew it was time.

We took her for one last walk around Saratoga Springs, letting her lead the way. Fed her an entire pack of hotdogs. The people at Upstate Animal Medical Center couldn’t have been more compassionate, even crying with us as Annabelle’s breathing slowed, then ceased.

Her last day, I suppose, went as well as could be expected, even as it remains one of the saddest experiences of my life.

“It’s not something people should do,” he warns. “There’s a reason veterinarians go to college for eight years.” Anyone without that training doesn’t understand “there’s nuance and many details to consider” when putting an animal down peacefully, including age, size, condition and other matters. Furthermore, untrained people “have no secondary systems to fall back on” if something unexpected happens.

(A quick Google search brought up these pretty detailed instructions for building a CO2 chamber for euthanizing a small pet: Small animal euthanasia at home.)

I can understand why owners might prefer their pets to draw their final breath at home, in familiar surroundings, but the risk of further suffering by doing it yourself just seems too great. Plus, humane societies and animal shelters offer options for reasonable fees. (The Animal Protective Foundation, for example, euthanizes dogs for $50.)

Would you ever consider putting your pet to sleep yourself? I’m hoping it’s a subject I won’t have to worry about for many years to come.